Study Programme

Any job applicant has more to offer an employer than just their qualifications. But how can you demonstrate experience, good communication skills and a desire to learn without an employer taking you on in the first place?

This is why Lifelong Learning has been developing new full time study programmes across all our training centres. These will help you to gain the necessary skills and experience that you need to impress an employer, alongside your qualifications.

All 16-19 students starting at one of our training centres from September will have the opportunity to build a personalised programme that best suits their ambitions, whatever their starting point.This will include work experience or voluntary placements, help with employability skills and personal development, Maths and English support for those who need it, a vocational qualification and other activities that will help to get you out of the classroom and into the world of work, either as a full time employee or as an apprentice.

The majority of our study programmes will be centred around a key vocational qualification that will equip you with the skills and knowledge required for your chosen profession. Aspiring head chefs, for example, would spend a large amount of their programme studying Catering and Hospitality. Other opportunities exist in Construction, Business Administration, Engineering, Child Care, Horticulture, ICT and many more in this prospectus.

In 2012, a national survey was commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses, which asked for employers’ opinions about school leavers. The survey questioned almost 3,000 companies and in total eight out of 10 of the firms questioned by the FSB said they were not confident that school leavers were ready for work. More than two-thirds (69%) said they rated school leavers’ literacy skills as poor or very poor, while more than half (55%) said the same about their numeracy skills. When it comes to workplace skills, more than half (56%) thought that school leavers’ communication skills were poor or very poor, 77% said the same about their business awareness and 31% said the same about team working skills.

Get yourself ready for work Apply for one of our study programmes and gain the skills, confidence, experience and qualifications you need to stand out from the crowd and get that first step on the employment ladder.